Japan backpedals on nuclear power

Japanese back off on nuclear phase-out

the Age,

21 September, 2012

IN AN abrupt turnaround, the Japanese government has stopped short of formally adopting the momentous goal it announced just last week - to phase out nuclear power by 2040 - after the plan drew intense opposition from business groups and communities whose economies depend on local nuclear power plants.

The cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said it would ''take into consideration'' the 2040 goal, but formally endorsed only a vague promise to ''engage in debate with local governments and international society and to gain public understanding'' in deciding Japan's economic future in the wake of the 2011 nuclear disaster at Fukushima.

Energy policy will be developed ''with flexibility, based on tireless verification and re-examination,'' the cabinet's resolution read.

A day earlier, the chairmen of Japan's most prominent business associations, including the influential Keidanren group, called a rare joint news conference to demand that Mr Noda abandon the 2040 goal. The deadline ''was not a viable option in the first place'', the chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tadashi Okamura, said.

Nuclear critics had been suspicious of the government's promise last week, saying the announced plans were vague and drawn out, and included troubling loopholes.

On Wednesday, after the cabinet's rollback, they called the government indecisive and weak-kneed.

Mr Noda had been forced to consider alternative energy sources after a series of public hearings showed overwhelming support for phasing out nuclear power.

Japan Backpedals on Plan to Phase Out Nuclear Power

Last week, Japan surprised the world by announcing that it plans to abandon atomic energy completely by the 2030s. But now in an abrupt turnaround, the Japanese Cabinet appears to be backpedaling on that decision, dropping any mention of the 2030s deadline in its approval of Japan's new energy policy.

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